Medal Prices Rise at Olympic Auction

(ATR) The torch from the 1960 Winter Olympics, marked No. 12 of 23, sold for $215,000 in the latest mail bid auction by Ingrid O’Neil. With the 15 percent buyer’s premium, the total was $247,250. The estimate for the torch had been $175,000.

A 1952 Oslo torch sold for $109,250 (all realized prices include buyer’s premium), while a 1988 Calgary torch, with an estimate/minimum bid of $39,000, went for $63,250.

Winter torches are considerably rarer than summer torches, particularly since in many of those relays the relay runners passed the torches instead of getting one of their own.

However, a 2014 Sochi torch brought $5,750 even though there were about 14,000 torchbearers.This was the 74th auction by O’Neil, who is based in California.

Nearly half of the lots in the auction sold -- 302 out of 653 – and O’Neil tells Around the Rings, "This was the busiest auction in a long time."

Olympic Medals Still Going Strong

Following the trend set by an auction last month in Boston, winner’s medals brought surprisingly steep prices. A 1932 Los Angeles gold medal with its original box had an estimate of $7,500, but fetched $20,873.

A 1906 gold medal, also in its box, had an estimate of $9,000 and brought $18,975. A 2004 Athens gold medal for baseball with its case was estimated at $9,750, but sold for $17,710. And a 1968 Mexico City silver medal for swimming, estimated at $8,500, fetched $17,250.

More common winner’s medals sold at their estimate, meaning there was only one bidder. These included a 1920 Antwerp silver ($6,325) and a 1956 Cortina bronze ($3,450).

Rather than selling 10 silver medals from the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics individually, O’Neil sold them as a lot, fetching $35,650.

Few Paralympic Collectors

Among the 23 lots in a section devoted to Paralympic Games memorabilia, only three sold: a 2010 torch ($4,025), three medals from the 1984 Paralympic Games in Innsbruck ($690) and a 1972 gold medal from the Stoke-Mandeville Games in Heidelberg, Germany ($220).

A gold medal for athletics from the 2012 London Paralympics ($9,750), a gold from 2004 Athens ($4,750), a bronze from 2008 Beijing with a green jade ring ($4,000), and gold, silver and bronze medals from 1992 and 1996 ranging from $1,250 to $3,000 had no takers.

Rare Tickets, Pins in Demand

O’Neil sold her first 1924 Chamonix ticket for $7,337, above its minimum of $5,800. A 1928 St. Moritz ticket had only one bidder and went for $2,070.

O’Neil had listed a 1928 Swiss pin from the Amsterdam Games at $200, but it brought $1.840. A 1948 Colombia pin for the London Olympics was estimated at $250 and fetched $1,487. And a Poland pin from Amsterdam with red enamel instead of the usual plated version, brought $1,107, nearly six times its miminum of $175.

Boxes Make the Sale

Items that show up in auction after auction and on eBay were tougher sells.

Many collectors already have participation medals, but O’Neil sold some that had their original boxes including 1908 London (bronze and silver for $3,450 each) and 1924 Paris ($632).

However, two of the most expensive participation medals did not sell: A 1924 Chamonix medal, which was also the bronze winner’s medal, failed to move at $15,000, possibly because it was not in top condition and isnot that hard to find. A 1932 Lake Placid participation medal, which O’Neil often has in her auctions, got no bites at $8,500.

A Paris winners’ medal for shooting, which seems to be on eBay every week, did not sell at $1,000.

Unsold items can be purchased at www.ioneil.com.

The Congressional medal awarded to members of the 1980 U.S. Olympic team, who did not participate in Moscow because of the boycott, met its estimate of $1,250 for a total of $1,437.

Paper Popularity Varies

There was not much interest in the hand-written dedication by modern Olympic Games founder Pierre de Coubertin, which he inscribed in a German book weeks before he died in 1937. It went for $1,581, one raise over the estimate of $1,250.

A signed presentation copy of a book by Leni Riefenstahl, the Olympic filmmaker, with a minimum of $2,000, had no bidders.

However, the two-volume 2012 London Official Report, which was never made available to the public, went for $5,750, almost three times its estimate of $2,000.

Mascot Mania

A rare 1972 plastic mascot savings bank from the Sapporo Games -- a bear holding a torch -- had one bidder who paid $517. The Misha bear from 1980 Moscow is much more prevalent, but not in its 25-inch size, fetching $345.

But the most recent mass-produced mascots from 2014, the trio of Olympic plush animals from Sochi ($175), the duo of Paralympic dolls from Sochi ($175) and the "Nanjing Happiness" from the Youth Olympic Games ($125) did not sell.

Written by Karen Rosen

Homepage photo: Getty Images

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